Sandy Layton owns a flower and gift shop in the town of Welch, an agricultural community about nine miles south of the Kansas state line. She lives on about 1,500 acres with her husband, Gary, a full-time cattle rancher.
The town has a population of some 633, slightly fewer than when Layton moved to the area in 1978 as a seventh-grader. Then, Welch was anchored by an active coal industry with several operating mines and a population of industry workers.
“During that time, we had three cafes, two QuickTrips, we actually even had a grocery store at one time,” Layton said. “I would say that's probably just about where everyone in this town worked, was the coal mines.”
Today, the mines are shuttered as other forms of generation have become cheaper and lawmakers incentivize alternative fuels like natural gas. Welch’s economic status changed with the energy shift, as did many other rural communities nationwide.
But some eastern Oklahoma landowners like the Laytons are hopeful for a boon from a younger industry.
For NPR’s Climate Solutions Week, StateImpact and its public radio partners are exploring how wind energy lets some Oklahomans live where and how they want. In the final story of the three-part series, we’re looking at how the industry is expanding to the eastern side of the state and what the future may hold for wind energy.
Western Oklahoma’s wind power flows east, but meets resistance
Representatives from Oregon-based wind energy company Triple Oak Power knocked on Craig County doors about two years ago in a bid to find land to lease for a future project. About 50 landowners have signed up for Cabin Creek Wind as of early June.
The Laytons were initially uncertain about the potential of hosting tall wind turbines on their land. But the possibility of retaining the property for their children and grandchildren without the burden of out-of-pocket upkeep costs convinced them to take a meeting.
Compounded with a history of wind projects contributing millions in revenue to towns through ad valorem taxes, the family signed on. Sandy Layton also took a role as a community liaison for the company after becoming a leaseholder.
“ You start talking about what this will do for our community, it's going to give us a great school with wonderful facilities,” she said. An updated water system and a faster ambulance service are also on her wishlist.
“ There's all kinds of possibilities,” she said.
Cabin Creek, which projects $44 million in property taxes 10 years into operations, is just one project with plans on this side of the state.
Energy company RWE is developing the Prairie Wolf Wind Farm in Hughes and Okfuskee Counties and the Verdigris Wind Farm in Craig and Nowata Counties. If constructed, the three combined projects will add hundreds of megawatt hours of generation to Oklahoma’s output, equal to powering about 248,000 homes annually, the companies say.
Yet some residents in eastern Oklahoma are voicing opposition to the installation of wind farms. People report a distaste for the sight of tall, white turbines swirling on the horizon or a mistrust of renewable energy. Sandy Layton said the conversation in Craig County has grown contentious, and she’s lost friends over her involvement with the wind project.
“ I don't know of one property owner that would sign a lease if they ever thought it would harm their family, and that's something that the landowners need to think about,” Layton said. “We're not signing these leases to harm anyone. This isn't a get-rich-overnight thing, it's not. Is it generational? You betcha, because it could be a 30 or 35-year project that will be passed down to our kids and our grandkids.”
“And you can't show me one person that doesn't want to leave their kids with something better than what they had.”
Ecological impacts from turbines, like land bisecting and harm to bird populations, are also concerns. In the U.S., researchers conduct site surveys to study animal populations and weigh potential risks to migration or nesting.
The state legislature this year introduced a slew of bills aimed at restricting the location of turbines in Oklahoma. In its latest language, Senate Bill 2, authored by Sen. Grant Green (R-Wellston), would have imposed a half-nautical-mile setback from a dwelling to turbines built in most eastern counties.
Lawmakers from both parties expressed concern over its potential impact on property rights and restrictions on the wind energy industry.
“Why are we denying rural Oklahoma a chance at this bonanza of energy, economic development, jobs and taxes?” Rep. John Waldron (D-Tulsa) asked while the bill was under consideration. The bill ultimately failed.
Researchers say Oklahoma’s climate is changing, and wind turbines offer solutions
Although the state is experiencing a reprieve from drought this year, scientists say its agricultural industry could face more hot and dry conditions in the future, increasing pest populations and weed growth. Some farmers and ranchers in Oklahoma have leased parts of their land to wind projects to supplement their income.
“We're seeing those warmer temperatures earlier,” said Renee McPherson, professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Oklahoma. “We're also seeing longer periods of more extreme temperatures in many years – not every year – that stresses a lot of the surface waters that ranchers are relying on for their livestock and making it much more difficult for them to keep more livestock in their supply.”
McPherson, who is also the university director of the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, said renewable energy can fill funding gaps for rural agricultural towns. Instead of introducing policies to restrict wind turbines, the state could benefit from advancements within the industry.
“ I think that wind energy is one of those areas where Oklahoma can take a significant leadership position in terms of developing future technologies – technologies that address concerns, you know, real concerns that people do have about, either the ecological damage that can occur with wind power, the sight of these large towers and any of these other concerns.”
“Oklahomans are smart enough to solve those issues if given the chance to do that,” she said.
Like much of the country’s energy infrastructure, wind technology is changing. Turbines built in eastern Oklahoma in the coming years will look slightly different than many of their western counterparts. Researchers say newer turbines are taller, making it easier to catch the wind and generate more electricity.
“And the logic behind that is there's less friction,” said Scott Greene, director of the Oklahoma Wind Power Initiative and professor at the University of Oklahoma.
The average hub height, which is the cylindrical component between the blades, was 70 meters about 20 years ago, Greene said. Today, some measure up to 120 meters. Blades on turbines are also longer than they once were. With less friction, a smaller group of turbines may generate the same average amount of energy as larger, older farms.
In eastern Oklahoma counties, it could be several years before announced projects begin construction. Cabin Creek has a projected start in 2027. The Laytons currently receive an annual rent check for their lease, which the family considers minimal.
“ Every little bit helps,” Sandy Layton said. “And I mean, as you know, today's inflation, think of the feed costs, the fertilizer, the spray, everything that goes up just maintaining.”
Layton watched the most recent legislative session closely and drove a nearly 6-hour round-trip multiple times to the Capitol. Although the setback bills failed this year, the proposals may resurface in 2026.
Reading a note she wrote before being interviewed for this story, Layton said the project could provide a critical economic value to the once-coal town.
“When our kids graduated and went off to college, they never returned home,” she said. “Five families cannot live off of 1,500 acres, and there's definitely not a good-paying job market in this area.”
“I only wish this opportunity had come along 35 years ago.”
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